Ladyhawke is an underrated classic. The plot is simple and effective, the cinematography is consistently beautiful, Rutger Hauer is at his glowering best, and Michelle Pfeiffer at her most porcelain beautiful. The best part of the film is young Matthew Broderick's portrayal of Philippe the Mouse, a glib pickpocket with a fluid morality, whose running one-sided conversation with God provides comic relief and accessibility to a film that might otherwise collapse under its own grim weight.
The movie has flaws: Powell's electronica score is very 1985 (though somehow enjoyable through the lens of nostalgia). The plot is a bit facile, the dialogue at times leaden. But I enjoyed it as a boy and I still do. And Philippe's charismatic, reluctant thief-hero is a big reason why.
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